1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to integrated circuits and more particularly to noise avoidance within integrated circuits.
2. Description of Related Art
As is known, integrated circuits are used in a wide variety of products including, but certainly not limited to, portable electronic devices, computers, computer networking equipment, home entertainment, automotive controls and features, and home appliances. As is also known, integrated circuits include a plurality of circuits in a very small space to perform one or more fixed or programmable functions.
Many integrated circuits include circuitry that is sensitive to noise and circuitry that produces noise. For example, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), which may be used in a cellular telephone, wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, broadcast radio receiver, two-way radio, etc., includes a low noise amplifier (LNA) that is susceptible to adverse performance due to noise and also includes an analog to digital converter and other digital circuitry that produce noise. To prevent the noise from adversely affecting the noise sensitive circuits (e.g., the LNA) many noise reduction concepts have been developed.
The simplest noise reduction concept is to put noise sensitive circuits on a different IC die than noise producing circuits. While this solves the noise sensitivity issue, it does not provide the reduction in form factor that many products and/or devices are required to have. Another technique is to have the noise sensitive circuits on separate power supply lines (e.g., positive rail, negative rail, and/or return) and connected together off-chip. Other techniques include layout management, shielding, etc.
While each of these techniques provides varying levels of noise management, their effectiveness is reduced as the fabrication process of integrated circuit shrink and/or as more circuits are placed on the same integrated circuit die. Therefore, a need exists for an integrated circuit that reduces the adverse affects of noise.